The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Customized goods are a highly appealing option for consumers with particular product requirements and consumers desiring unique products. Many different attributes of a goods may be customized such as, size, shape, length, texture, etc. The particular attributes which are customizable may vary depending on the type of product being customized or the seller providing the customizable product.
Such customized goods may be viewed and purchased through a user interface of a computer system, such as a web browser. When determining whether to purchase a customized product, a customer would find it helpful to view sample images depicting visualizations of selected customizations as the customer is making selections. One approach for providing a customer with sample images includes a manufacturer providing images for each combination of selected customization options prior to receiving the customer's selections of customization options. In response to a customer selecting a particular set of customization options, the particular image depicting that combination of customization options could be retrieved and displayed to the user. For example, in response to a user selecting an 8″ diameter and a square shape for a customizable dinner plate, a particular pre-defined, stored image of a dinner plate of the selected size and shape may be retrieved and displayed.
However, in many cases, it is burdensome for the seller to provide an image for each different combination of customization options in advance of user selections, especially when there is a great number of a product option. In some cases, it may even be impossible for the seller to provide an image for a particular user-selected customization option in advance of user selection. For example, a seller may wish to provide the user with an option to enter a particular design to incorporate into the customized product.
A better approach for displaying customization options to a user during the selection process is needed. The approach needs to effectively convey the appearance of the customization options, while also not requiring a burdensome amount of images to be created by the seller.